Curious
Magic Rock Brewing

 

 

 

 

This is the breweries flagship pale ale; I found it at The Cask and Kitchen in London and sailed away from the bar with a hand pulled pint. They claim to use plenty of US hops in the brew; I struggle to find any difference between UK and US hops to be honest, varieties yes, where they are grown, no. To be fair there were plenty of hops evident in the brew, be they American or Brit.

Anyway, the beer was a pale blond, almost golden in colour, a small white head tried to cover the beer but failed.

There is a strong citrusy aroma (grapefruit from Cascade hops maybe?).

The taste was an easy blend of bittering hops and smoothing malts, it had more body than the look indicated and overall it wasn’t a bad pint. In fact it was an ideal first pint of what turned out to be a bit of a mammoth (and expensive) session in the aforementioned pub.

Properly kept, this beer is a clear, light gold with a thin but nicely sticky white head. Herbal hops dominate the nose, with ovely twangs of juniper and menthol, fresh maplewood, honey, lilac, and lemon. Very autumnal. Plenty hoppy on the palate as well, though it comes through as more resinous bitterness than floral aromatics. Juicy grapefruit pithy tang, raw pine, and baguette flavors dominate. Nicely fizzy but with some chew to it, not bad but not the best example of the "hoppy 4% golden" ale style that has become so popular lately.